Women always thought they were smarter, and now IQ tests are backing them up. James Flynn, an IQ expert, collated results from tests around the world and said women have taken the lead for the first time, the Telegraph reports. "This is a consequence of modernity," said Flynn. "The complexity of the modern world is making our brains adapt and raising our IQ." But why the female boost? "Because they were disadvantaged in the past."

Posted at 12:12 PM ET, 07/16/2012Would more women at the top at Penn State have stopped Sandusky sooner?
By Melinda Henneberger

This is the statue of former Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno that stands outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. (Gene J. Puskar - Associated Press) If only more women had been in leadership roles at Penn State, the thinking goes, then child rapist Jerry Sandusky might have been led off in handcuffs many years and multiple victims ago. It’s an appealing narrative, easier to grasp than the 267-page Freeh report documenting how those in charge at Joe Paterno University rationalized protecting a pedophile over the disadvantaged boys he preyed on.

I’ve had similar thoughts about the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, and wondered if we’d have seen the same coast-to-coast cover-ups if there were more — okay, any — women at the top. In that case, not only aren’t there women around the tables where decisions get made, but there aren’t many around dinner tables, either, asking his Eminence what he did today after he knocks off for the evening. One of my saddest moments as a mom was answering my then-6-year-old son’s question about those scandals, which I was covering at the time: Had the bishops gotten together and decided to let bad things happen to kids? No, I told him,
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. during his trial last month. (Gene J. Puskar - AP) there wasn’t any conspiracy; they didn’t even need one.

Yet as much as I’d like to see this theory widely tested — would women in control of powerful institutions be less likely to protect the brand at all costs? — I’m not convinced it’s anything but wishful thinking.

Speaking for myself, there would be noise you would hear around the world !

Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 Boot camp teaches girls how to be politicians
By Elizabeth Dexheimer | Medill News Service

Running Start, a nonprofit group that encourages women to get involved in politics at an early age, hosted about 50 girls recently in Washington, introducing them to female role models and instructors and teaching them the basics of networking, fundraising, public speaking and other skills essential to political success.

“It’s really important for young women to be involved in politics,” said Sophie D’Anieri, a 17-year-old high school senior from Troy, N.Y. “I think there is some discrimination against women that makes it difficult to run.”

The camp was about more than just the mechanics of politics. It was meant to inspire girls to get into public life. Recruiting girls for elected office when they’re in high school helps ensure that there will be more women making policy decisions, said Jessica Grounds, the executive director of the group.

Guys, here's something to cite the next time your gal is nagging you to get off the couch: An international study suggests that women are lazier than men. A paper published by Lancet this week surveyed 122 countries to find out how active the global population is, reports Time. Around 30% of the world's adults were designated as physically inactive, meaning they get less than a half-hour of moderate physical activity 5 days a week.

In theory, your health comes before everything else, and and there are few things more worth your money than the costs to maintain it. In theory. Before today, nearly half of American women between the ages of 19 and 64 avoided doctor visits and medical services because they didn't want to pay for them, a 2010 Commonwealth Fund survey revealed. However, new measures that come into effect on August 1 under the Affordable Care Act could change that statistic.

When being first is a no-win situation
By Kathleen Parker, Published: August 3The Washington Post

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Not surprisingly, Barbara Bush said it most succinctly: “The first lady is going to be criticized no matter what she does.”

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One needn’t prod Michelle Obama for confirmation — or almost any other first lady in history. There is no “just right” in this, shall we say, “Goldilockean Proviso.” Anything is either too much or too little.

A review of first-lady comments posted on the National First Ladies’ Library Web site (www.firstladies.org/biographies) further confirms the difficulties the wives of presidents face. Obama is but the latest to face the challenge. A common thread suggests that more than a few disliked the role but accepted it as a duty.

Men still top the list of the world’s highest-earning authors, but this year it’s the women on the list who’ve been making the boldest moves, led by a trio of genre phenoms: Suzanne Collins, E.L. James and J.K. Rowling.

RIO DE JANEIRO — From the day Mariana Migon discovered she was pregnant, she knew she wanted a natural birth. So just weeks before her due date, the first-time mother abandoned her obstetrician, her health plan and her private hospital room for the free public hospital in downtown Rio – where she had a real chance at a vaginal birth.

"If I'd stayed with my health care plan and my doctor, I would have had a C-section," said Migon, as she sat beside the incubator holding her baby girl, who was premature.

In Brazil, where natural childbirth fell out of favor years ago, more than half of all babies are born via cesarean section, a figure that rises to 82 percent for women with private health insurance.

But that trend may be turning around in a country with one of the highest cesarean rates in the world.

In a historic change at one of the world's most exclusive golf clubs, Augusta National invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932.

Like every other woman and man, I think, I was appalled by his statement. It underscored what we’ve been dealing with during this Congress and the danger of having politicians legislating on these issues when they have a fundamental lack of understanding of how we work.

Honestly, what Rep. Akin said is not that different from [the views of] his fellow Republicans. I’m glad more people are aware of how extreme this House is. If they look at his positions, they’ll see they are virtually identical to Paul Ryan’s, who is now the vice presidential nominee.